Multiple paper roll dispenser



July 4, 1967 G- x. BATLAs ETAL 3,329,36fi

MULTIPLE PAPER ROLL DISPENSER Filed Aug. 23, 1965 1O 25 B 23 J9 47 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIGJO 34'? i Q 37 Fez INVENTORS GEoRGEX. BATLAS,

STEPH BARANSKI ATTQQNEY y 4, 1967 G. x. BATLAS ETAL 3,329,356

MULTIPLE PAPER ROLL DISPENSER Filed Aug. 25, 1965 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Z7 Z5 1Q 32 8.17

/N VENTOIQS g) 77 GEORGEX. BAH/1&5, TEPHEN @ARANSK/ AT TORNEY United States Patent 3,329,366 MULTIPLE PAPER ROLL DISPENSER George X. Batlas, Astoria, and Stephen Baranski, New York, N.Y., assignors to Griffith-Hope Company, West Allis, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Filed Aug. 23, 1965, Ser. No. 481,630 13 Claims. (Cl. 24255.53)

This invention relates to dispensers for rolled sheet material, such as toilet paper and paper toweling, and more particularly to dispensers for successively dispensing a plurality of rolls of the material.

Various forms of roll dispensers or fixtures have heretofore been devised for carrying two or more rolls of toilet paper and wherein one roll is in dispensing position and a reserve or supplemental roll is held ready for use but inaccessible to the user until the first roll is depleted.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved multiple paper roll dispenser of the character described which is of simple and durable construction and which is capable of inexpensive manufacture and ready installation.

Another object is to provide a roll dispenser of the character described 'which includes simple but effective locking or latching means for preventing pilfering of rolls and which is so arranged as to permit quick and easy loading of fresh rolls by authorized persons.

Still another object is to provide a roll dispenser of the character described which is formed 'of readily assembled sections to permit compact packaging and to facilitate fabrication.

A further object is to provide a roll dispenser including improved mandrel means for supporting a pair of paper rolls in end-to-end relation, one roll being in dispensing position and the other in reserve position.

A still further object is to perfect details of construction generally.

The invention further consists in the several features hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, illustrating certain embodiments of the invention,

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a two-roll toilet paper dispenser constructed in accordance with the invention; I

FIG. 2 is a left-hand end elevational view of the dispenser;

FIG. 3 is a right-hand end elevational view;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view;

FIG. 5 is a rear elevational view;

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional elevational view taken generally on the line 6-6 of FIG. 4, and showing exposed and reserve paper rolls in mounted position;

FIG. 7 is a detail front elevational view of a rollsupporting mandrel, parts being broken away and parts being shown in section;

FIG. 8 is a transverse sectional elevational view of the mandrel, taken generally on the line 88 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a front elevational view of a coupling end portion of a dispenser bracket back plate or base plate;

FIG. 10 is a horizontal sectional plan view taken generally on the line 1010 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 11 is a tranverse sectional elevational view taken generally on the line 11-11 of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a transverse sectional elevational view taken generally on the line 1212 of FIG. 10;

FIG. 13 is a detail sectional view on an enlarged scale taken generally on the line 1313 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 14 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 13 but showing the dispenser bracket in a detached passing position;

FIG. 15 is a detail sectional view similar to FIG. 13

3,329,366 Patented July 4, 1967 but showing the bracket permanently connected to the dispenser housing;

FIG. 16 is a schematic plan view, partly in section, showing a pair of disassembled dispensers packaged in a carton;

FIG. 17 is a sectional elevational view similar to FIG. 6, showing a modified form of roll dispenser;

FIG. 18 is a detail front elevational view of the rollsupporting mandrel of the dispenser of FIG. 17, parts being broken away and parts being shown in section;

FIG. 19 is a rear elevational view of the dispenser of FIG. 17;

FIG. 20 is a transverse sectional elevational view of the mandrel of FIG. 18, taken generally on the line 20-20 of FIG. 18;

FIG. 21 is an end elevational view of a roll housing of the dispenser of FIG. 17, and

FIG. 22 is a fragmentary sectional detail perspective view of housing and bracket parts of the dispenser of FIG. 17.

Referring to the form of toilet paper roll dispenser shown in FIGS. 1 to 16, the numeral 10 designates the dispenser as a whole. The dispenser includes a horizontally extending housing or casing 11 having a generally semi-cylindrical forward portion 12 connected by flat top and bottom walls 13 and 14 to a vertical back plate or base 15. The back plate is adapted to be secured to a vertical supporting wall 16 and is provided with keyhole openings 17 to receive attaching screws 18 for this purpose. The housing is formed of a single piece of sheet material, preferably sheet metal. The back plate 15 has a forwardly inclined lower portion 19, FIG. 12, with a rearwardly projecting horizontal bottom flange 20 spot welded at 21 to the flat upper face of the lower rear wall 14 of the housing, and the bottom wall has at its rear edge a narrow upstanding flange 22 which positions the back plate bottom flange 20 to facilitate welding. The back plate is also provided with shallow, laterally spaced, vertically extending channel embossments 23 projecting forwardly of the back plate.

The housing 11 has an open outer roll-loading end which is normally closed by a hinged sheet metal cover or closure 24 forming a blocking member. The cover has a marginal flange 25 which fits over an inwardly offset marginal flange 26 formed on the outer end of the housing, the lapping portions of the cover flange and housing flange being pivotally connected by vertically aligned rivets 27 near the back plate 15. A key-operated lock 28 is riveted to the inner face of the cover near the front portion thereof and has a forwardly projecting,

'- bevel-nosed slidable latch bolt 29, FIGS. 10 and 12, which is engageable behind a keeper lug or ear 30 bent inwardly from the front portion of the housing. A finger opening 31 with a rounded edge is formed in the cover at its lower portion to facilitate roll feeding, as hereinafter described. The end of the housing distant from the cover is open and has an inwardly folded rounded edge 32.

The dispenser further includes an angle-shaped supporting bracket 33 of sheet metal having a back plate or base 34 and a forwardly projecting arm 35 spaced axially from the housing 11 and forming an end wall of the dispenser. The bracket back plate forms a detachable lateral extension of the housing backplate 15, as hereinafter described. The bracket 21 has folded edges 36 to provide stiffening and to avoid sharp edges, and is further provided with pressed gussets 37 at the junction of its back plate and arm. The free or coupling end of the bracket back plate 34 has a forwardly offset portion 38, FIGS. 9 and 13, to bear on the front face of the housing back plate and includes a flat coplanar tongue 39 which enters a vertical slot 40 in the side of the adjacent channelembossment 23 of the housing back plate so as to bear against the flat rear face of this em-.

bossment. The housing back plate is formed with a pair of vertically spaced forwardly projecting tubular nipples 41 which fit in openings 42 formed in the bracket back plate, thus coupling and positioning the bracket with respect to the housing. These nipples are slightly tapered so as to provide a snug fit in the openings 42. The bracket back plate is also provided with openings 43 to receive attaching screws 44. The assembled housing and bracket constitute a frame, the bracket arm 35 forming an end wall of the frame. The connector structure above described permits detachable fastening of the bracket 33 to the housing 11, so as to facilitate fabrication and to permit compact packaging of the parts, as hereinafter described. However, if permanent attachment of these dispenser parts is desired, the nipples 41 can be riveted to the bracket, as indicated at 45 in FIG. 15.

The dispenser is provided with a horizontally disposed roll-supporting mandrel 46, hereinafter more fully described, which parallels the back plate, one end of the mandrel being rigidly attached to the bracket arm 35, and the other end portion extending axially or centrally within the housing 11. The mandrel body is of inverted channel or U-shaped cross-section with a convexly rounded upper side 47 and inturned lower marginal flanges 48, and has an outturned end flange 49 rigidly secured, as by rivets 50, to the flat vertical inner face of the bracket arm or wall 35. The mandrel 46 has a horizontal tongue 51 at the upper side of its free end supported or braced, as hereinafter described, by the hinged housing cover 24. The mandrel body is inexpensively fabricated from flat sheet metal stock.

A channel-shaped sheet metal member 52 is secured by rivets 53 to the flat inner side of the housing cover and has its web portion spaced inwardly from the cover and provided with a horizontal guide slot 54 to receive the end tongue 51 of the mandrel, the slot being formed between the end edges of inwardly struck convergent tabs 55, FIG. 6, of the channel member, these convergent tabs presenting cam surfaces. The channel member 52 also forms a guide member, FIGS. and 12,0verlying the key-operated lock 28 secured to the inner wall of the housing cover. A front lug or lip 56 on the channel member overlies the projecting portion of the latch bolt 29 to prevent tampering with the bolt.

The mandrel 46 is adapted to support thereon in endto-end relation two supply rolls 57 and 58 of toilet paper each having the usual tubular cardboard core 59, the roll 57 forming .an active roll and being disposed in exposed accessible position in the open space between the housing 11 and the bracket arm 35, and the roll 58 forming a reserve or supplemental roll and being protectively disposed within the housing which forms therein a compartment of sufficient length to accommodate the reserve roll. The inturned lower marginal portions 48 of the mandrelavoid catching on any loose parts of the roll cores which are usually spirally wound. As indicated in FIG. 11, the curvature of the upper side of the mandrel is approximately the same as that of the interior of the tubular roll core, and the depth of the mandrel is slightly greater than the inner radius of the roll core.

The exposed or active roll 57 is rotatable on the mandrel to permit withdrawal of paper therefrom and is frictionally confined between a pair of leaf springs 60 and 61 engaging the opposite end faces of the roll near the roll core. The leaf spring 60 is secured at its rear end on the inner face of the bracket arm by rivets 62, FIG. 11, and the front portion of the spring has a downwardly projecting tongue 63 which extends in an opening 64 formed in the upper face of the mandrel to limit the deflection of the spring in the absence of a roll and to prevent the end of the roll core from passing under the spring. The leaf spring 61 is of arched shape longitudinally overlying the mandrel in alignment therewith, and has an end secured, as by a rivet 65, in a flattened recessed portion 66 of the top Wall of the mandrel at a region spaced inwardly from the open inner end of the housing. The leaf spring 61 has a horizontal roll-supporting portion 67 spaced above the mandrel and provided with a small rounded stop-forming hump 68 near the vertical plane of the inner edge of the housing. From the hump 68 the leaf spring 61 has a downwardly projecting vertical portion 69 engageable with the adjacent end face of the exposed or active roll 57, the vertical portion being suitable rounded to avoid catching on the roll. The shoulder-forming spring portion 69 projects through a rectangular opening 70 in the top wall of the mandrel, FIGS. 6, 7 and 10, and has a stop lug 71 projecting toward the bracket arm and engageable with the underside of the mandrel to limit the upward deflection of the spring. As seen in FIG. 10, the mandrel opening 70 is narrower than the main portion of the leaf spring 61. The lower end of the vertical spring portion 69 is of reduced width to form downwardly facing shoulders 72, FIG. 7, engageable with the upper surface of the mandrel to limit the downward deflection of the spring, thus avoiding overstressing of the spring. The leaf spring 61 supports the hollow core of the reserve roll 58, and this roll is further supported by a rounded tongue 73 struck up from the mandrel in alignment therewith at a region spaced longitudinally from the spring 61 toward the housing cover 24. As a modification, the arched leaf spring 61 could be length ened, thus permitting the roll-supporting tongue 73 to be omitted. The reserve roll 58 is axially confined between the spring hump 68 and the cover channel plate 52, and the spring hump separates, the reserve roll from the exposed dispensing roll. The leaf spring portion 67 urges the lower portion of the reserve roll core upwardly against the mandrel flanges 48 to impose friction on the reserve roll. While the paper rolls are shown to be of the cored type, the dispenser can also accommodate hollow or tubular paper rolls of the coreless type.

As seen in FIGS. 3 and 11, the mandrel-carrying bracket arm or wall 35 is provided with a rounded notch 74 in its lower front portion to expose the end of the tubular core of the dispensing roll, thus facilitating removal of this roll core by tearing when the dispensing roll is depleted, as hereinafter described.

The dispenser 10 is preferably supplied to the installer in a knocked-down condition, the mandrel-carrying angle bracket 33 being detached from the housing 11. A pair of the knocked-down dispensers can be packaged in compact condition in a box-like carton 75, as indicated in FIG. 16, the two housings 11 being placed end to end with their open ends adjacent, and the two mandrel-carrying brackets 33 being disposed within the housings.

To mount the dispenser on the supporting wall 16, the two screws 18 are driven into the wall in vertically spaced relation to register with a pair of the keyhole openings 17 of the housing 11. If desired, a suitable template can be used to locate the screws. With the hinged housing cover 24 in open position, the mandrel-carrying bracket 33 is interengaged with the housing back plate 15, the bracket tongue 39 entering the slot 40 in the housing back plate, and the bracket openings 42 receiving the housing back plate nipples 41. The housing cover 24 is then closed to confine the end tongue 51 of the mandrel in the housing channel guide slot 54, thus aligning the bracket back plate with the housing back plate. The housing 11 is then engaged with the screws 18, and the additional screws 44 are driven to clamp the bracket to the supporting wall.

To load the dispenser, the housing cover 24 is opened and a toilet paper roll 57 is entered onto the free end of the mandrel, the roll sliding over the supporting tongue 73 and depressing the leaf spring 61. The roll is then pushed or pulled over the rounded spring hump 68 to assume an exposed dispensing position on the mandrel as the active roll, as seen in FIG. 6. A second toilet paper roll 58 is then entered onto the mandrel to a position within the housing where it is supported by the mandrel tongue 73 and the leaf spring 61 and becomes the reserve roll, whereupon the cover 24 is closed to its latched position to prevent unauthorized access to the reverse roll. In its closed position the housing cover 24 also provides additional support for the tongued end of the roll-supporting mandrel.

In the use of the dispenser, paper is drawn from the exposed or active supply roll 57 which is rotatable on the mandrel 46 but is retarded in its rotation by the leaf springs 60 and 61 frictionally engaging the opposite end faces of the roll. The spring hump 68 separates the exposed or active roll 57 from the reserve roll 58 disposed within the housing 11. When the active roll is depleted, the hollow cardboard core thereof is torn off by the user, the notch 74 in the front end of the bracket end arm 35 and the open bottom of the channel-shaped mandrel permitting ready finger access to this core. After removal of this core, the reserve roll 58 is displaced axially from its housed position to dispensing position, this roll being urged over the rounded spring hump 68. The initial axial displacement of the reserve roll is readily effected by inserting a finger in the housing cover opening 31 to push the roll over the hump, and the roll is then pulled to dispensing position. Before depletion of the displaced reserve roll, which now forms the active or dispensing roll, an attendant loads a fresh reserve roll onto the mandrel after unlocking and opening the hinged housing cover 24, whereupon the cover is again closed and latched.

The modified form of roll dispenser shown in FIGS. 17 to 22 includes a roll housing 11' and a complementary angle-shaped bracket 33 with a forwardly projecting mandrel-carrying arm 35. The housing 11 is generally similar to that of FIG. 1, but is of C-shaped cross-section, as seen in FIG. 21, the back plate thereof consisting of vertically spaced coplanar sections The bracket 33' has a vertical marginally flanged back plate 34' which occupies the gap between the housing back plate sections 15 and is suitably interlocked therewith in coplanar relation, as by providing rounded tenons or tabs 76 on the housing back plate sections fitting in correspondingly shaped openings or notches 77 in the bracket back plate. The housing back plate sections are provided with keyhole-shaped screw-re ceiving openings 17', and the bracket back plate is provided with screw-receiving openings 43'.

The bracket arm 35 has fixed thereto the flanged end of a modified form of roll-supporting mandrel 46' which is of rounded channel cross-section, as seen in FIG. 20, and includes an upwardly offset portion 73 disposed within the housing 11' to present a flat vertical shoulder 78 of crescent shape at the junction of the two mandrel portions, this shoulder facing toward the bracket arm. The shoulder 78 is disposed about midway of the length of the mandrel and slightly outside of the plane of the inner end of the housing 11. If desired, a small rounded hump 68 may be formed at the upper edge of the shoulder. The outer end of the housing is closed by a hinged cover 24, as in the device of FIG. 1, and the mandrel 46 has a tongue 51 at its free end interengageable with a slotted channel plate 52 fixedly secured to the inner face of the cover, as in FIG. 6.

The active or dispensing roll 57 is frictionally confined between the mandrel shoulder 78 and the leaf spring attached to the bracket arm, this shoulder and leaf spring bearing against the opposite end faces of the roll near the roll core. The reserve roll 58 is supported within the housing 11' on the upwardly offset portion 73' of the mandrel.

The dispenser of FIGS. 17 to 22 is otherwise the same as that of FIG. 1 and is packaged, loaded and used in a similar manner. The roll-supporting mandrel 46' of FIG. 18 may also be used in the dispenser of FIG. 1.

We claim:

1. In a paper roll dispenser, a frame having opposite first and second ends and an open-ended housing at said second end, a roll-supporting mandrel extending axially in said housing and projecting therefrom toward said first frame end, said mandrel having opposite ends one of which is fixed to said first frame end and the other of which forms a roll-loading end, said mandrel being of sufficient length to extend serially through the central passages of two paper rolls one of which rolls is a dispensing roll rotatably disposed adjacent to the fixed end of the mandrel and the other of which is a reserve roll disposed in said housing, said mandrel having at an intermediate region of its length a shoulder facing the fixed end of the mandrel and engageable with the adjacent end of the dispensing roll, and resilient means engageable with the opposite end of said dispensing roll for urging said roll axially against said shoulder.

2. In a paper roll dispenser, a frame having opposite first and second ends and an open-ended housing at said second end, a roll-supporting mandrel extending axially in said housing and projecting therefrom toward said first frame end, said mandrel having opposite ends one of which is fixed to said first frame end and the other of which forms a roll-loading end, said mandrel being of sufficient length to extend serially through the central passages of two paper rolls one of which rolls is a dispensing roll rotatably disposed adjacent to the fixed end of the mandrel and the other of which is a reserve roll disposed in said housing, said mandrel having at an intermediate region of its length a shoulder facing the fixed end of the mandrel and engageable with the adajcent end of the dispensing roll, and resilient means engageable with the opposite end 'of said dispensing roll for urging said roll axially against said shoulder, said mandrel having fixed thereto an arched leaf spring extending longitudinally thereof, said spring including a deflectable portion extending longitudinally of the mandrel for supporting the reserve roll and further including a portion bent inwardly from said deflectable portion toward the mandrel and presenting said roll-engaging shoulder.

3. A paper roll dispenser according to claim 1, in which the mandrel is provided adjacent to said shoulder with a lateral projection for separating the dispensing and reserve rolls.

4. A paper roll dispenser according to claim 1, in which said resilient means comprises a leaf spring having a deflectable roll-end-engaging portion provided with a projecting part extending into said mandrel.

5. A paper roll dispenser according to claim 1, in which the portions of the mandrel carrying the dispensing and reserve rolls are laterally offset with respect to each other to form said roll-engaging shoulder.

6. A paper roll dispenser according to claim 1, in which the mandrel comprises a mandrel body of channel cross-section, and the first frame end is formed to permit finger access to the central passage of the dispensing roll.

7. A paper roll dispenser according to claim 1, in which the mandrel comprises a mandrel body of channel cross-section and has a laterally offset part integral therewith presenting said roll-engaging shoulder.

8. A paper roll dispenser according to claim 1, in which the mandrel 'portion for supporting the reserve roll includes laterally projecting parts for disposing the reserve roll on a horizontal axis upwardly offset from the axis of the dispensing roll.

9. A paper roll dispenser according to claim 2, in which the mandrel is further provided with a struck-up tongue spaced longitudinally of said leaf spring toward the loading end of the mandrel to afford additional support for the reserve roll.

10. In a paper roll dispenser wherein a generally horizontal mandrel is adapted to carry in end-to-end relation a dispensing roll and a reserve roll and wherein one end of the mandrel is fixed to a frame and the other end forms a loading end for the rolls and extends into an open-ended housing of the frame for enclosing the reserve roll, the combination with said mandrel-carrying frame, of a hinged cover for said housing, and a plate fixed to the inner side of said cover and having a positioning recess formed therein, and said mandrel having a substantially horizontal projection disposed to be received within the recess to support the mandrel in a generally horizontal position within the housing.

111. In a paper roll dispenser of knockdown construction, an open-ended housing having a base and having breadth and axial dimensions sufiicient to receive a paper roll, a separate angle bracket having a base and an arm, said bracket base being adapted for connection to said housing base to form an extension thereof in an axial direction of said housing, a mandrel fixed at one end to said bracket arm and adapted to extend axially into said housing, said mandrel having a length sufficient to extend serially through two paper rolls disposed in endto-end relation and having a roll-loading end opposite its fixed end, one ofsaid rolls being a dispensing roll rotatably positioned on the mandrel between said bracket arm and said housing, and the other roll being a reserve roll positioned in said housing, a pair of said open-ended housings when in disconnected condition being disposable in adjacent end-to-end relation and adapted to enclose a pair of said separate mandrel-carrying brackets in parallel relation thereto to thereby form a compact packaging assembly for a pair of the dispensers. 12. In a roll dispenser, a frame, a housing carried by the frame and having a closed end and an open end, a roll supporting mandrel located within the housing and having a fixed end connected to the frame and disposed out of the housing and having an opposite roll loading end locating within the housing, said mandrel having a length sufficient to extend through the central passages of a pair of end-to-end rolls containing coiled sheet material to be dispensed, one of said rolls being a dispensing roll rotata-bly disposed adjacent the fixed end of the mandrel and the other of said rolls being a reserve roll located adjacent the roll-loading end of the mandrel, a movable abutment located between the rolls and engageable with the adjacent end of the dispensing roll, and resilient means engageable with the opposite end of said dispensing. roll for urging said dispensing roll axially against said abutment, said abutment being movable to a non-obstructing position to permit the reserve roll to be moved axially on said mandrel to a dispensing position adjacent the fixed end of the mandrel on depletion of the dispensing roll.

13. The dispenser of claim 10 in which the surface of the plate bordering said positioning recess is tapered toward the recess to guide said projection into detachable engagement with said recess.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,616,632 11/1952 Birr et al. 242-5142 3,217,998 11/1965 Schwartz 24255.42

LEONARD D. CHRISTIAN, Primary Examiner. 

1. IN A PAPER ROLL DISPENSER, A FRAME HAVING OPPOSITE FIRST AND SECOND ENDS AND AN OPEN-ENDED HOUSING AT SAID SECOND END, ROLL-SUPPORTING MANDREL EXTENDING AXIALLY IN SAID HOUSING AND PROJECTING THEREFROM TOWARD SAID FIRST FRAME END, SAID MANDREL HAVING OPPOSITE ENDS ONE OF WHICH IS FIXED TO SAID FIRST FRAME END AND THE OTHER OF WHICH FORMS A ROLL-LOADING END, SAID MANDREL BEING OF SUFFICIENT LENGTH TO EXTEND SERIALLY THROUGH THE CENTRAL PASSAGES OF TWO PAPER ROLLS ONE OF WHICH ROLLS IS A DISPENSING ROLL ROTATABLY DISPOSED ADJACENT TO THE FIXED END OF THE MANDREL AND THE OTHER OF WHICH IS A RESERVE ROLL DISPOSED IN SAID HOUSING, SAID MANDREL HAVING AT AN INTERMEDIATE REGION OF ITS LENGTH A SHOULDER FACING THE FIXED END OF THE MANDREL AND ENGAGEABLE WITH THE ADJACENT END OF THE DISPENSING ROLL, AND RESILIENT MEANS ENGAGEABLE WITH THE OPPOSITE END OF SAID DISPENSING ROLL FOR URGING SAID ROLL AXIALLY AGAINST SAID SHOULDER. 